California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Four Indicted on Weapons Charges

A Navy SEAL commando and three other men were indicted on charges that they sold high-powered guns and explosives to undercover agents, federal authorities said. The defendants were identified as Gordon Dawson, 50, El Cajon; Herschi Excell, 23, Vista; Peter Scherer, 23, Alpine, and William Schmeck, 27, a Navy enlisted man attached to the elite SEAL commando contingent. “The four individuals were indicted on various firearms and explosives charges dealing with automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns, C-4 explosives and machine guns,” U.S. Atty. William Braniff said. A fifth person, a Marine based in Okinawa, was expected to be arrested soon, said James Stathus, special agent in charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office in San Diego.